Pyrexia
by sapphireEye2010
Summary: One year after Loki tried to take over the world, a new race of aliens is making its way to Earth. There is only one person who can possibly help the Avengers defeat this threat. She's fiery, cold, and she's a fifteen year old alien. After 15 years of being locked up, will she be able to remember enough about her own race to save the day, or will Tony's attitude get in the way?
1. Prologue

**This is my first story for the Avengers. If you find any similarity to any other OC created by another person, it is purely a coincidence. I had already written this before reading other fanfics.**

**I hope you enjoy!  
**

14 years before the Avengers assembled to defeat Loki and regain the Tesseract, SHIELD had tracked a meteorite from the far reaches of space as it made its way and crashed on Earth. It had come from a place no human knew of. When it touched down in Tennessee, SHIELD made a quick move to recover anything that might prove beneficial to them before locals could get to it.

Upon impact, the meteorite had cracked open. Inside was an infant. While the meteor was still burning hot, they extracted the child and found out it was unharmed. They immediately took it to the closest facility. They tried to figure out how she survived such brutal conditions without a single burn. After consulting with Thor to see if he could recognize this being, they realized that she came from somewhere where nobody, not even Asgardians, knew about.

For 15 years, this child was locked up. She turned out to have the ability to control fire and ice. SHIELD found ways to restrain her powers, but continued to conceal them from the outside world. They tried taking her to school, but when the girl caught a boy's hair fire, they decided that she shouldn't go out in public. She was locked in a cell almost 24/7, with a little time to go out and exercise.

At one point, the girl started to wonder about the world. She had access to a computer, but it could not connect to the internet. She eventually found a way and started to learn about the world. She wanted to know more about what SHIELD was planning to do to her, so she hacked her way into the computer. She noticed that she had the intelligence to easily hack into computers, so she continued practicing and eventually became the greatest hacker in existence.

The girl realized she needed a name for herself. She considered many options and eventually chose one: Pyrexia.

Now, the world is in peril again. SHIELD found a large formation of unknown creatures making their way to Earth. This army was traced from the same location that the girl's meteorite originated. The Avengers have been assembled, and the girl has joined the team. But no one knows that just yet.

**Hope this sparked your interest. Review, and keep reading!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hope you enjoy! A short chapter, mostly talking, but I promise it'll get longer as the story goes on!**

Saturday, May 18, 2013, 9 AM

The alarm clock on my night stand goes off. Another day in captivity. I get up and change my clothes. They look exactly the same as yesterdays. But, of course, when SHIELD holds you in a cell with little human contact almost your entire life, you get used to it.

Breakfast today it eggs on toast and bacon. The usual Saturday meal. Despite the boring black sweats and dull day-to-day routine, the food is actually pretty good.

Nick Fury walks into my room as soon as I finish my bacon. I normally wouldn't be surprised, but he only checks up on me on Mondays. The only other time he showed up on an unusual day was when I hacked into his computer. It wasn't a friendly visit.

"Whatever I did, I didn't mean to do it, I swear!" I say. It's true. I have no clue what I did to cause him to show up.

"You didn't do anything," he responds. I relax a little. "However, you should be happy to hear that you get to leave the facility."

"Really? What's the occasion? We aren't under attack, are we?"

"Not yet. And that's the problem. An extraterrestrial army is making its way towards Earth at an alarming speed."

"And how does this involve me?"

"They're from the same place as you."

"What? I didn't know there were any more like me."

"Well, there are, and we need your knowledge of your kind to help defeat them."

"How much knowledge can I have? I was just a baby when I ended up on Earth."

"Well, since you taught yourself to be a master hacker at the age of 7, we thought you could figure it out."

"Ok, then, if you really trust me. But one question. Who am I helping? The Army?"

"The Avengers."


	3. Chapter 2

Saturday, May 18, 11:10 AM

2 hour plane ride to wherever we're going. They have failed to tell me that, and their computers didn't say, either. We land on an aircraft carrier. Now this I recognize. One moment it's a military ship, the next a flying fortress. I had never actually seen it, but hacking gives you a lot of information.

They rush me inside and "escort" me to a conference room. And when I say escort, I mean have 7 guards with guns surrounding me as I walk down the halls. You would think I was out to kill someone. When we walk into the room, there are 6 people sitting at the table. Nick Fury was standing behind the only empty chair. The others I recognized from the profiles Fury showed me. Thor, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner, in that order, with the empty chair between Natasha and Steve. At first, they all looked surprised, but Clint and Natasha continued their conversation they were having when I walked in, while the others continued to stare. I know that Thor knew about me, but he hadn't seen me since I (crash) landed on Earth. Steve and Bruce looked confused, and Tony looked outraged.

"A kid?" he said loudly. "We are all highly trained professionals and you bring in a kid to help us? You're kidding me, right? This is some kind of joke?"

"You know I don't joke," Fury said. "She may be our only hope. Plus, she can prove to be useful in other ways, too."

"Like what? Teach us all how to text faster?"

The guards walk me over to the chair. I reluctantly sit down. Being confined for 15 years doesn't exactly make you outgoing, and sitting between two strangers is almost terrifying. All but 2 guards leave. Tony leans forward to look at me.

"You're like, 12, right?"

"Closer to 15 or 16, but who knows?"

"How the hell do you not know how old you are? Are you stupid or something?"

"Tony, did you even read her profile?" Fury interjects.

"No."

"And why not?"

"I don't know. Just didn't feel like it. Pepper and I were… busy."

"Well, next chance you get, you should read it. You might learn something. Until then, she can fill you in."

Everybody turns to look at me. I cower back, not liking that I have 7, maybe 8 or 9 pairs of eyes on me. I'm hating this already.

"Go on," Natasha quietly says to me. "Tell us about yourself." She puts a hand on my shoulder, which calms me a bit.

"W-well, I, uh…" Tony scoffs at me.

"See," he says, "she can't even talk like a normal person!"

"Try being locked up for your entire life and see how easy it is to talk to a bunch of strangers," Natasha snaps back. "You've only been locked up for 3 months at most!"

"She's from another planet, one we never knew existed until she showed up" Fury says. "She arrived in a meteor and we found her. She appeared to be an infant, but we don't know how her kind develops."

"If she's an alien, then why does she look like a human? She's not from Asgard or anything," Tony interrupts.

"We developed a serum to make her grow and appear like a normal human. Now shut up. She showed extraordinary powers, which we have been able to restrain for her safety and for others'. She is also claimed to be the 'greatest hacker in existence'. She's named herself Pyrexia."

"What?" Tony and Bruce say at the same time.

"This little bitch is Pyrexia?" Tony asks, bewildered. "This is the little cretin who stole all of my files? And I have to work with her?"

"She hacked into my computers, too," Bruce says. "She didn't take anything, I don't think, but she didn't exactly cover herself up."

"That's because you didn't have anything interesting for me to take," I mumble, but everybody heard it. They all turn towards me. I cower back, still uncomfortable with their gazes. I muster up all the courage I can get and sit up.

"Yes, I'm Pyrexia. Yes, I stole Tony's files. I've stolen tons of files from hundreds of computers. Big deal." I couldn't help but notice that Natasha, Clint, and even Fury smile a little. "Anyways, we're all here for a reason; can we at least talk about that? I'm uncomfortable talking about me." Tony mumbles to himself, but everybody ignores it.

"Right," Fury says. "I'm sure you all know what's going on, and you all have to stop it. Pyrexia is here to help us figure out how to do so. She may not remember anything about her kind, but with the right push, she may be able to. If not, we can use her to find their weaknesses."

"You mean kill her?" Natasha asks.

"No, but we have our ways to do so and still have her ready to fight."

"Wait, fight?" I interrupt. "I thought I was just here for finding out information!"

"Well, with your abilities, you could prove very useful if it all comes down to a fight."

"How many are we looking at?" Steve asks.

"Three hundred to two thousand."

"And you expect six… seven people to fight them off?"

"The military will also help, but if we can stop them now, then we won't have a problem."

"Are you sure they're going to try to attack?" Thor asks.

"Not exactly, but we must be prepared. We have an estimated 4 1/2 weeks until their arrival, and we don't want to wait until then to find out. So, I need Stark and Banner to prepare to analyze any information we can get from Pyrexia. Barton and Romanoff, get as many weapons ready for yourselves as you can. Thor, Captain… just find something productive to do. Pyrexia, come with me."


	4. Chapter 3

Saturday, May 18, 4:58 PM

After more than 5 hours of trying to get me to remember anything about my race, they decide to give me a break. The only thing they could figure is that they all have the same abilities. If not, we could be in huge trouble, since we have no way to prepare for anything else at the time.

I go to my new room, which is exactly like my old one. I'm tired, and I don't want to do anything else, so I just plop down on the bed. I'm trying not to fall asleep just yet. I sit there for about 5 minutes when somebody enters my room. I expected it to be Fury, but it turns out to be Natasha. Clint must be waiting outside. I can tell they have a thing for each other.

"Having a rough day?" she asks me.

"Definitely."

"I'm sorry the meeting didn't go well. Tony isn't very welcoming to new people. You should have seen how he acted when he met Steve. Wasn't his best moment."

"Not surprised. He seems very arrogant and close minded."

"He can be. But once he warms up to you, he won't be as bad."

"I seriously doubt he'll ever warm up to me."

"So I've been wondering, and I'm sorry if I'm getting into your personal business, but what exactly are your 'abilities' that Fury was talking about?"

"Well, I can kinda-."

"Well, why don't you come and see." We didn't notice Fury enter the room.

We made our way to the training facility. It was a fairly large room with plenty of training dummies and weights placed around the room. The only windows were the ones that must look out of a viewing room of sorts. They are darkened and too high up for me to see out of.

An intercom comes on. Fury's voice echoes across the room.

"Ok, feel free to show us what you can do."

"Hate to burst your bubble, sir, but I think you forgot something." My necklace, a simple chain with a small round pendant on it, had been left on. It sent signals to my brain to keep me from using my powers. If I tried to remove it, it would shock the crap out of me, almost literally. The same two guards that had escorted me everywhere entered the room and removed my necklace, but as soon as they did, an alarm system went off. They stopped, then quickly grabbed my arms and dragged me out of the room.

We all ended up back in the conference room, with everybody in the same spot as before, even Fury and the guards. The alarms had stopped. As it turns out, the army heading towards Earth had sent a scout ahead. SHIELD quickly disarmed and captured the creature. They had locked it in a confinement area. Luckily, the sedatives they used on it worked, so they were able to perform some tests.

"As you all know, we have a hostage on the ship," Fury told us. "We have no new information just yet, but we need to be prepared. Stark, Banner, go to the lab. Everyone else needs to come with me. Bring your weapons." That's when I noticed I was the only one without a weapon (not including Banner. He is a weapon.).

We head to the confinement area. Everyone is told to wait outside the cell, except for me. I had to go in there and try to communicate with the creature.

I cautiously walk in. It's awake, but strapped down to a chair. It's a horrid, almost humanoid creature, greyish-purple with three violet eyes. It has scales, with spikes covering its head and shoulders. Its hands and feet look human, but with long tan-ish claws instead of nails. Its teeth look like those of a dog, but longer and sharper. It has no lips, the nostrils are slits in the face, and the ears are long and pointed. It wears sort of armor, definitely flammable. It makes me wonder. The creature tries to lung forward, struggling to break the bonds entrapping it.

When that doesn't work, the creature cocks its head and looks me up and down. It starts to screech, which startles me at first, but then I realize that I can understand what it means. Suddenly, I knew how to communicate with it.

"You look like the others, but I sense you are one of us."

"Yes, I am one of you."

"But why are you here, and why do you look like them?"

"I don't know why I am here. All I know is that I crashed here in a meteorite years ago. I don't know anything else about who I really am. The people here have disguised me."

"You know nothing of our world?"

"No, I don't, but I'd like to find out all I can. Maybe you could tell me. But first, I need to know why so many are coming towards Earth."

"Earth? Is that what you call this planet? On our planet, we call if Fnaliz. Anyways, we, the Svonfraln army, plan to tear apart this planet until we find the Svonfralitz, our queen's secret weapon."

"What is this weapon?"

"We don't know exactly. Our queen, Svonfralitz Oposa, demanded that we recover anything we can of our people, from bodies deep within the planet to artifacts."

"I'm a little confused. Could you explain as much as you can about our people? History and everything?"

"Explain? I will try. You see, many tralinqa ago our people first gathered here on 'Earth'. We started our own civilization, but in time, those whom you resemble, the Fnalizn, started to kill us off. Knowing our abilities to travel through air and space, we left to find a new home planet."

"Wait, you mean, we can fly?"

"Yes. You seem amazed. I thought by now you had figured that out."

"No, I hadn't. Continue."

"After a long, difficult journey, we found a flourishing planet. There was no dominant species, so we easily gained control. We made a lovely home there, and quickly expanded across the lands. We adapted well and started to create weapons to defend ourselves. Eventually, one rose above the rest and took control. Her name was Svonfral, which is where we got our name, Svonfraln. You see, in our world, females such as yourself are in charge. Males do as they say, which means the harder work and fighting. We do not mind, though. It is how things should be. Svonfral established order and led us to be a great nation. She had one daughter, who took control when Svonfral died. She referred to herself as the Svonfralitz, after her mother. Many generations passed, and now we have Svonfralitz Oposa. She said she created a secret weapon, but when she feared an uprising over it, she sent it off. Nobody knew what it was, and she never wanted anybody to know until she needed it. And now, she wants us to find it so she may have it if she needs it."

"And you were sent to scout ahead?"

"Yes. You see, I can detect other Svonfraln, and if I could find any, I could see if they knew the location. But seeing as I am trapped and you know nothing about our people, I have failed."

"Will you be punished?"

"More than likely. I will probably end up a slave or dead."

"That's horrible!"

"That is the life of a Svonfraln male. We accept our fate and remember that there is always a worse fate than ours."

"…Why do you trust me so much? You just told me everything without hesitating."

"You see, young one, all Svonfraln are family, and we trust that everything said will be only be said to others when it be absolutely necessary."

"I see. Do you have a name?"

"Jpeshnak."

"Do you know if I have a name?"

"I am not sure, but I shall give you one. How about Kushpal? It means 'Hidden Fire'. I chose it because I can see that you have a fire within you, but you haven't discovered it just yet."

"Kushpal. I kind of like it."

I turn and leave the room. I think Fury will be happy to hear all of this.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey. Here's another chapter. Hope you like it!**

**I have some things to say about previous chapters that I can't change. In the prologue, it said that Thor was consulted about Pyrexia when she crashed on earth. It should be Odin. So, in the chapter where Pyrexia meets the team, Thor had never seen her. It doesn't seem like a big deal now, but I'm currently working on the sequel, so things had to change for things to work out the way I want them to. I hope you don't mind too much. Please review!  
**

"So you're telling me that these 'Svonfraln' are going to destroy our planet until they find this weapon, yet they don't even know what it is?" Fury asks, outraged.

"I guess so," I reply. "Maybe we could search for them, try to find anything that would be of value to them and give it to them before they kill us all."

"Do you seriously think that a whole army of aliens would agree to that?" Tony interrupts. "I've dealt with my fair share of aliens, and none of them seemed to want to cooperate."

"Oh, yeah, that's right, because all aliens are heartless, violent creatures with no sense of right or wrong," I snap back. "All they ever want to do is wipe out the human race. Let's not forget who you're talking to, jackass." With that, everyone in the lab turns around. We had moved to the lab so Bruce and Tony could still work and discuss the situation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you considered yourself one of them, when you've lived you entire life as a human."

"Just because I was forced to pretend to be something I'm not, doesn't mean I want to. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't really had much of a choice."

"Yeah, ok, because cooperation is involuntary. You let SHIELD control you, no protest or anything. So before you-."

"Excuse me? I _let_ them control me? I ended up on this planet when I was too young to even tell what the hell I was! Do you think I wanted to end up here? Do you think I wanted some random group of people to control everything about my life, from what I eat to whether or not I can use my powers?"

"Powers? You know, I haven't seen you do shit since you got here. I'm starting to think these powers don't exist."

"Is it getting hot in here to anybody else?" Steve asks. Fury looks at me, and you can see the shock in his eye.

"Pyrexia, calm down," he says. I ignore him.

"You don't think I have powers? This coming from the guy who runs around in a metal suit, pretending he has powers? The only people in this room who actually have _real_ superhuman are me, Thor, Steve, and Bruce. And only two of us weren't injected with them."

"You say you have these special abilities, but nobody has ever actually seen them. Why? Because you're just a joke. You aren't the real Pyrexia, just some faker who claims to be."

"Yeah, and who's the real Tony Stark, huh? We all know you're the man in the suit, but are you really actually smart enough to make it? Are you really the genius you claim to be, or a phony taking credit for somebody else's work?" Tony takes two steps towards me, but as soon as he does, his hair bursts into flames. He starts panicking, and I stumble back a few steps. I'm not supposed to be able to use my powers. The necklace…

Oh my God, I don't have the necklace on. They took it off in the training facility. I watch as everybody tries to put Tony's hair out, but they can't. Suddenly, I realize that I'm the only one who can. I extinguish it, and everybody turns to me. Smoke is coming off of what remains of Tony's hair (which isn't all that much).

"What the hell?" Fury asks, outraged. "Where is your necklace? You know it's dangerous for you to not have it."

"Well tell that to the guards who were ordered by _you_ to take it off," I snap back. "I didn't realize that I lost it, until I… lost it. But _he_ deserved what he got."

"And how did I deserve getting my hair burned off?"

"Because you were being a jackass. If you would have just kept your mouth shut, you wouldn't have pissed me off, which would mean you'd still have your hair. Believe me now? Or do you still think I'm a fake. Because I could always prove it again."

"No, I'm fine," he mumbles.

"Good."

Everything goes quiet, and Clint decides to break the tension.

"So how does a girl who's been locked up her entire life get such colorful language?"

"Trust me. When you're locked up with nothing but a computer that you had to hack into the internet, you learn a lot about the outside world."

"Like, porn?" Natasha slaps him on the back of the head.

"No, I've found it kind of boring." Everybody stares for a moment.

"I'm kidding. I've never even bothered thinking about it, much less looking at it." They seem relieved. I laugh to myself.

"Can I go back to my room now? I don't think Tony can concentrate if he thinks his eyebrows will burst into flames at any moment."

"Barton, Romanoff, take her to the prisoner. She still has more to find out,"

"Really?" I ask. I'm too tired to talk to Jpeshnak right now, but I go anyways.

He greets me as I enter the room.

"Hello, Kushpal."

"Hello, Jpeshnak. I have more questions to ask you, if you don't mind."

"I will answer as well as I can. What do you need to know?"

"Well, first off, would there be any way to keep the army from destroying Fnaliz?"

"I do not think so. You would have to ask the Svonfralitz."

"She be willing to speak with me?"

"More than likely. Once she figures out you are one of us, she will welcome you warmly."

"We could work it out. Second: do the Svonfraln have any… special abilities?"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Like, let's say, the ability to control something, like fire."

"No, I have never known any who can do that. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curiosity."

"I see." He seems skeptical, but I try to keep my cool. I don't want to give away too much about myself. "Well, then, I will see if I could find a way to speak with the Svonfralitz. Thank you for your cooperation."

**Hope you liked it. There's a lot of talking in this story, but it helps you understand. I'm trying not to upload everything at once, despite having it all written, plus some of the sequel. Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 5

Sunday, May 19, 9 AM

Alarm clock goes off. I sit up, and suddenly images flash through my mind.

A female Svonfraln, crying as a soldier takes her baby away from her.

A filthy city, very unlike those on Earth, with dead bodies lying in the street.

A large golden building, regal and shining, the only part of the city that was actually clean.

A grand hall, with sculptures and paintings of all of the Svonfralitz throughout history.

A large, looming female, rising from a throne of gold, speaking to the soldier carrying the child.

Words not understood, but the tone in her voice revealed concern and excitement.

The female taking the baby, inspecting it, and scratching it on the cheek.

The child starts to cry, a horrible shrieking sound, as the soldier's body bursts into flames.

Suddenly, the child and the soldier, burned almost past recognition, are on a mountain, with a large round rock in front of them.

It splits open, revealing a cavity large enough for the child.

The soldier places the child within, with a note.

As the rock launches itself into space, the note and child are unharmed.

I jolt back into reality when somebody clears their throat. It's a guard.

"Mr. Stark wishes to see you in his room," he says, obviously nervous. I'm not surprised, considering I now have full control over my powers. I give him a smile, and he relaxes a bit.

We leave the room and he walks me down to Tony's room. I turn to the guard.

"Thank you, uh…" I start. He doesn't have a name tag.

"Stan."

"Oh, well, thank you, Stan." The door opens.

"Come on in," Tony says. I nod to Stan and enter the room. It's not decorated, but it has a desk surrounded by computers, a TV, and a sofa. I stand there awkwardly, watching Tony.

"Why don't you sit down?" he asks, gesturing to the sofa. I do, sitting stiffly on the side farthest from him.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax. I just want to talk." I don't move anything except my eyes as he moves to lounge on the other side of the sofa.

"I'm sorry I acted so rudely to you yesterday. I just didn't like how 6 adults have to put up with a girl who claims to be the best hacker in the world _and_ a superhero. It didn't sound real to me. Anyways, I wanted to just chat, get to know you a bit, break the tension between us. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, I guess. And for the record, I don't claim to be the best hacker in the world. I like to stay under the radar of most, but I have hacked into 'impossible' security systems, such as yours. Sorry about that, by the way. Plus, everyone who knows of me thinks I'm a 32-year-old woman in Pasadena, California who is fairly good at hacking, but not the best. The 'best' is said to live in France or something."

"Nice. So, uh, where should I begin? Do you have any hobbies, besides hacking and setting people's hair on fire?" I laugh.

"I normally can't set people on fire. I'm usually restricted. But I do read a lot, and I am something of a musician."

"What do you play?"

"French horn."

"Cool. So, do you have any friends?"

"Nope. I've had practically no human contact in my life, besides SHIELD agents, Fury, and now you guys."

"So you've never been out in the real world?"

"I have once. They tried sending me to kindergarten, but I kinda set a kid on fire. I guess that's kind of my thing, setting people on fire." We both laugh, and suddenly I feel completely at ease. One day, I find this man to be a horrible person, the next we're laughing together. Not bad.

"I would ask what you like to do," I say, "but I've already got it figured out, by the look of your computer. Is that girl on your background Pepper?"

"Yes. She's my girlfriend."

"I've noticed."

"I see. Stop me if I'm getting too pushy, but what exactly is the extent of your powers?" This takes me by surprise, and he could tell. "I'm just curious."

"Oh, uh, well, I can obviously set things on fire, and I can make any metal melt or too hot to touch. I can also drop the temperature. You've heard of absolute zero, right?"

"Yeah."

"I've reached it, once. It only lasted for a matter of seconds, but it still happened."

"Very interesting. Also, do you remember anything about your planet, Svonfral, or something."

"Actually, I think I might. I had a rush of images this morning when I woke up." I proceed to tell him everything I saw.

"So, do you think the female was the queen? It would make sense."

"Yes, I do think it was her. And the child had to be me. But I don't get why she took me from my mother. Unless… Oh my God."

"What?"

"They're looking for me."

"What do you mean?"

"They're looking for a weapon. They have to bring back everything from artifacts to bodies. None of them can control fire and ice like me. The queen stole me from my mother to use me as a weapon."

"We have to tell Fury." With that, we run out of the room.

"So you believe that you are the secret weapon they're looking for?" Fury asks.

"Yes. The flashbacks are too realistic."

"And you want me to send you to Svonfral to negotiate with the queen, who demands that you be found?"

"I can go as I am. Nobody else can speak to them but me."

"And what if negotiating doesn't go well?"

"Then I just wing it."


	7. Chapter 6

Monday, May 20, 9 AM

After hours of arguing with Fury, he finally agreed to let me go.

Plans have been made for my trip. Since the Bifrost has been repaired, Thor had traveled back to Asgard and made arrangements with Heimdall to transport me. Thor had to go with me as a kind of escort. We were to fly out to New Mexico where the Bifrost connected with Earth. We'd go to Asgard just to head straight to our destination. No visiting now, but Thor promised that if everything goes well, then he'll take the whole team. Extra incentive to win this.

Jpeshnak taught me all there was to know about proper etiquette, especially with the queen. He told me what he remembered of the city, and how glorious it was. Everybody was well fed and happy. When I asked him about the vision, he simply explained that those were when the old queen fell. The new one has long since restored the city, which he calls Prolofk, to its glory.

Before we left, I hurried to pack a small bag for the trip. When I entered my room, I found a surprise waiting for me. It was from Tony. I opened the box to find a dark blue outfit similar to Black Widow's with matching knee-high leather lace up boots. And a mask to go over my eyes. Nice touch. I roll my eyes and see what else is in the box. There's a hypodermic needle, too, with a redish liquid inside. And, of course, a note"

_Pyrexia,_

_I thought you deserved a suit, since you're now one of us. The entire team pitched in with ideas, and Fury agreed to have it made. We all hope you like it. Cap chose the boots, Tasha the actual outfit, Clint the color, and, of course, I added the mask._

_You will also find a needle in this box. Be very careful with it. Bruce and I concocted that nasty crap inside it. You may need it, if shit starts to hit the fan. Don't tell Tasha I said that. She doesn't like when I use that kind of language around you, overprotective bitch. You'll figure out what it's for if you need it._

_Anyways, welcome to the team, kiddo, and don't get killed. I'm actually starting to like you. Plus, I want hear you play that instrument of yours sometime._

_Tony Stark_

I couldn't help but smile and laugh as a tear rolled down my face. I wipe it away and change, looking in the full length mirror and admiring the new suit.

We get on a small plane, just Thor, me, and Stan. I never really noticed, but he seems young and is very attractive. He's had dark blond hair with green eyes, tall, and from what I can tell, muscular. I also noticed that he has always been my guard. He always brought me my food and stood outside my room when I left it in the mornings. It's a long trip, so I decide to try and get to know him. Natasha told me I should try to work on my social skills.

"So, uh, hi," I say. Stan's head quickly lifts, and I notice the freckles on his nose and cheeks. They just add to his attractiveness.

"H-hi," he responds. I can tell I took him by surprise.

"How's your day been?" Really, Pyrexia, that's the best you can come up with.

"Pretty normal, I guess." Awkward silence.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Really, you're that young and working with SHIELD?"

"Yeah. I graduated early from high school and my dad got me a job here. Do you know Agent Coulson?"

"He's your dad?"

"Yeah. Or, well, he's my step-dad. He married my mom when I was two, so he's pretty much my dad."

"Oh. That's nice."

"Yeah." He smiles at me, and I almost melt. He's gorgeous; something I'd never thought I'd say about a guy. We continue to talk for the rest of the trip. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Thor watching us. He's actually smiling.

We get off the plane and walk over to an area with strange markings on the ground. Thor calls for Heimdall, and we're immediately enveloped in a ray of colorful light. In seconds, we're standing in a golden dome. A large man in golden armor stands in the center. Heimdall.

"Remember the rules, Thor," he booms. He forces his sword down, and we're off again. This trip takes a little longer, but not by much.

We find ourselves on the outskirts of the dirty city I saw in my vision. It is much worse, though. Buildings crumbling, shrieks ringing out from every direction, all of which are shrieks of pain and suffering, Svonfraln children crawling through the streets, one of which is eating another. On the horizon, a golden glow radiates. You can barely see the top of the building I saw in the vision. This was nothing like Jpeshnak described.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" I ask Thor.

"Absolutely. Heimdall has never been wrong."

We quickly make our way through the streets, towards the grand building. Svonfraln are everywhere, looking starved and weak, slinking into the shadows as we walk past. It was then I realized how intimidating Thor really was.

Soon enough, we arrive at the doors to the building. We look at each other and open the doors cautiously. We find ourselves in the hall. At the end, the queen sits, looking well fed. I know that something is up.

"Kill them," she shrieks at the guards in front of her. They advance towards us, brandishing large, deadly looking swords.

"Wait!" I yell across the hall. The guards stop. They did not expect me to be able to speak their language.

"Who are you?" the queen asks, leaning forward slightly. The guards return to where they were.

"I am known as Pyrexia or Kushpal, as I was named by one of your own."

"Where are you from and what is your business here?"

"I am here from Fnaliz to negotiate-."

"Foolish creature. I negotiate with none. But how is it you come to know about us?"

"I have my ways. But I must insist-."

"Silence! You dare walk into my hall and demand from me?"

"I am not demanding. For the sake of my home, I just want you to listen to me."

"And why should I?"

"Because you threaten to destroy my planet without any true reason besides _hoping_ to find something! For all you know, this weapon you seek may have been destroyed!" Oops, said a little too much there. The queen rose from her throne.

"And how do you know about my weapon? Who told you?" She was outraged. I definitely let too much slip. Thank God Thor can't understand me.

"Please, just listen to me. There are many innocent people who could be killed in this fruitless search for your weapon!"

"And that concerns me, how?"

"Do you really want to condemn the lives of the innocent for the sake of a weapon you can just recreate?"

"You do not understand. The weapon cannot be recreated." Proving my theory even more.

"But is it necessary for you to kill millions to find it?"

"Yes, it is. Your kind has murdered so many of mine, in the most brutal ways. Those actions cannot be forgiven."

"True, you cannot forgive those actions. But those were the actions of those who no longer live. In fact, I am one of few who even know of what happened. Others do not know you even exist."

"We have to make our mark in this universe, young Kushpal. And to destroy those who destroyed us is our first move." Then, like she had given a command, the guards raced towards us. Thor tried to fight them off, since I'm not allowed to use my powers on this trip (still accessible, just not a good idea), but suddenly, he collapses on the ground, with me following soon after.

We woke up in a dank cave with little lighting. Mold grows at the base of the walls, and the smell is horrible. Looking around, there were two possible exits, both holes on opposite walls. Upon further inspection, they were too small for even me to fit through, much less Thor. I don't even think Mjolnir could fit through.

"How did we get in here?" I asked. I knew Thor would know, but I felt the need to ask.

"No clue." As soon as he said that, a guard walks by. He stops, and looks in through the hole. He turns and grabs the edges of the hole, pulling it open. An idea pops in my head. I'll save it for later.

"You, there, with the weapon," he yells, pointing at Thor. "Hand it over." Thor turns to me, confused.

"He wants you to give him Mjolnir," I explain. I roll my eyes and smile a bit, not letting the guard see. Thor hides his smile and willingly hands over his beloved hammer. It drops to the ground and almost smashes the guard's foot. He tries to lift it, but to no avail. He tries for several minutes and leaves, frustrated. Thor and I bust out laughing, but it is short lived. We didn't notice that the hole didn't close behind the guard. I hesitantly walk over to it and stick my head out. Another guard is coming down the corridor, so I panic and try to do what the guard did to close it. Sure enough, it worked. We now have an escape route, but by the look and sound of things, there are guards everywhere. We're going to have to wait it out a few days.


	8. Chapter 7

The next three days are hell, but necessary. We're given some green slop to eat, which smells revolting, even to me. We don't eat any, but try to survive on what I had packed, which isn't much. Terrifying screams ring out from other prisoners. I don't even want to know what's happening to them. Occasionally, a prisoner would be dragged to the end of a hall, and a hole would open up. I start having to nightmares, and often wake up shivering in Thor's arms. Awkward, but somehow comforting.

We watch the patterns of guard changes and estimate the best time to escape is at the sunset change. Day's here are shorter, and the only way we can tell what time of day it is through the window. Now, most people would just leave through the window, but there are horrid beasts that just so happen to sleep directly below the window. I haven't actually seen them well, but I've seen guards to out there to feed them, and they're obviously afraid. All I know is they're huge. The window's about 4 feet off the ground, and when the beasts lay in front of it, they're backs are about the same height. They could probably eat me in one bite, Thor in two.

Fury's given us 5 days to report back, so we have to leave tonight. I had a plan in mind. Over the past three days, I had figured out what the needle was for. Thor reluctantly agreed to go ahead with my plan.

About 5 minutes before the guard change, I pulled out the needle and injected it into my arm. Automatically, I felt a strange sensation run down my spine. I look down to see my fingernails turn to claws and my skin to grey-purple scales. Exactly what I expected. My vision went weird for a moment, as my third eye appeared between the other two. In a matter of seconds, I was in my original form, the form I had never seen. My suit was stretched out, and the spikes on my shoulder looked like they had ripped through the suit. Sorry, guys, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Thor does nothing but stares. I'm taller than him now.

"Do I really look that bad?" I ask jokingly. Then I realize it came out in the screeching voice of a Svonfraln. I look around to see if any guards had heard it. I guess none did. We prepare to escape. After a few tense moments, we hear the guards changing. The hall is so narrow, one group must leave completely before the other can enter. The guards leave through other doorways along the walls.

I open the hole in the wall and climb out, looking to see if there's anyone coming. Wow, they're really slow today. Suddenly, screeching rings through the prison, as though it came from an intercom.

"Intruder in the throne room! All guards report!" Well, that was a little too easy. Suddenly, the earpiece I forgot I had turns on. For a moment, there's a faint buzzing sound, then, to my surprise, a voice rings in my ears.

"What's up, pudding cup?"

**Sorry for such a short chapter. Most have 1,000+ words, but this one had to cut off here.**


	9. Chapter 8

"What's up, pudding cup?"

"Tony! Wait, how are you talking to me?"

"You know that intruder in the throne room?"

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope. And my god, there are a lot of guards. Care to help out?"

"I don't know how to get up there!"

"Do you have the mask on?"

"Uh, no."

"Well-." His voice cuts off with a grunt. I almost panic, until he starts talking again.

"Get the goddamn mask on. By the sound of it, you've already used the serum. Early than I expected, but oh well. JARVIS will show you how to get up here and help me!" He cuts off, but you can hear him fighting off the guards. Putting on the mask, I run down the hall, Thor following, finding the door JARVIS led me to using a screen in front of my eyes. I open it, and we run down various hallways, eventually leading to the throne room. Tony's in his suit (obviously) and is surrounded by a mob of guards. A burst of light, and one goes crashing through the wall behind the throne. The queen is not in it, but I see her disappear through a doorway. Thor runs to help Tony, smashing at least five guards with his hammer. I decide I have more important things to do.

"Hey, uh, pudding cup, why are you just standing there?"

"I have to do something."

"What, exactly." I don't answer, and I run off in the direction the queen went.

"JARVIS, can you track the queen?"

"I can detect the trail of heat she left behind." The screen shows a faint trail leading down the hall. I follow it.

After running down several sets of stairs and multiple hallways, I find myself in a large, ornate room. The queen stands before a grand fireplace, staring into the fire.

"You look like one of us, but you smell like the prisoner who demanded for me to call off the attack." She turns around to face me.

"I know who you are, young Kushpal. I could tell that there was a faint trace of the child I long since lost. I worried I would never see you again."

"Are you saying I'm your child?"

"Yes. I remember the day you were born. You had great potential, I could tell. You had the ability to control fire. Your name suits you well. Hidden fire. A perfect name for my daughter. And now you are home, safe and sound."

"Do you honestly think I believe you?"

"How can you not, when I speak the truth? Those two vile creatures you brought with you are destroying our wonderful home, and you stand there and believe I would lie to you?"

"I know the truth. You stole me from my home, my mother. I saw the look on your face when you saw me and my abilities."

"I am your mother, child. Why would you not believe me?"

"Like I said, I know the truth. And even if you did speak the truth, I would never claim you to be my mother. What happened to the guard who sent me away, anyways?"

"I had his head removed. To steal you from me was treason. And I might as well give up the charade. I did steal you from your mother. You were too great of a weapon to let rot in the slums. I had to have you for myself. You could be my greatest tool! You just have to join me!"

"That's all I am to you? A tool? And you expect me to aid you?"

"I could help you understand your true potential, make you more powerful than you can ever imagine."

"I don't need you to help me."

"That's what you think. I have seen many gifted beings in my lifetime, each of which I helped to be greater than ever before."

"Well, I think I can handle that by myself, thank you very much. But, I still need you to call off the attack on Ear- Fnaliz."

"Never. All of those evil Fnalizn need to die. They have only brought death and suffering to my people, to _our_ people!"

"No, your people. Not mine. And you aren't any better than the humans. In fact, I would say you're worse. Humans did what they did to defend themselves. You let your people die in the streets while you sit on a throne of gold, not even lifting a _claw_ to help them."

"You dare insult me? I am the Svonfralitz!"

"Yeah, and I'm your greatest weapon. With me against you, you're hopeless."

With that, she lunges at me, shrieking. She moves fast, but I move faster. I dodge out of her way, and she goes crashing into the table. She pulls herself up and faces me.

"Vile scum! You are not worthy to call yourself a Svonfraln!"

"You're right. That's because I'm human." And with that, I transform back into my human form. Thank you, Tony and Bruce. She lunges at me again, and this time, I don't have time to move. We crash onto the floor, her on top, and she starts to claw at my face. I kick her repeatedly, eventually making contact with her stomach. She grunts and rolls off of me. They're more human-like than I thought. We both get up, her clutching her stomach, and circle each other. My hand fires up, and she laughs menacingly.

"You think I haven't prepared for you to try to do that? You cannot harm me with your fire!" This time, I lunge at her, punching her in the mouth. I knock some teeth out, but she isn't burned. Time for Plan B.

I try to grab for her throat, but she catches my arm. She flips me, and I hit the ground, hard. I spin on the spot, knocking her to the ground, too. I climb on top of her and hold her arms and legs down. She struggles, but I manage. Grabbing both of her arms in one hand, I use my other hand to grab her throat. I squeeze hard, just enough to cut off her air, not enough to kill her. Yet.

I see the fear in her eyes and she struggles for air. Strangely enough, I don't feel any pity for her. She's a horrible thing and deserves to die.

"Wait!" It's Tony. He's standing at the door with his mask up. He and Thor must have showed up when we were fighting. I guess they had won the fight with the guards. My grip relaxes, but my hand never leaves her throat.

"Maybe Fury wants us to take her prisoner."

"Do I care?"

"Just let us take her to Earth. She can answer to Fury."

"She deserves to die."

"I know. But still."

"Fine. But when Fury's done with her, I get to kill her."

"Violent, much?"

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

**Definitely not my best chapter, but I'm not good with action scenes.**


	10. Chapter 9

The trip back felt way too long. We get back to Earth at about midnight, and I'm exhausted. Thor has been escorting the Svonfralitz the entire time. He hasn't taken his eyes off of her. I don't know how he can do it. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Stan was there again and I opt to sit by him. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on him because I wake up leaning against his well-toned chest with his arms wrapped around me. He's snoring. Long day for him, too, I guess. Then I realize that we aren't on the plane anymore. We're on a leather sofa. I didn't recognize the room we were in. I look around for a clock. I find one.

It's 9 AM on the dot. I have spent way to long with SHIELD setting my alarm clock. I sit up, and Stan's arms fall limply to his sides. He's definitely out. I stand up, stretch, and jump when I see Tony in a kitchen directly behind the sofa I was just on.

"Coffee?" he asks in a hushed tone. I walk into the kitchen and accept the mug from him.

"I've never had coffee before," I admit. SHIELD was very strict about my diet.

"You'll like it. It'll wake you up." He watches as I take a sip and scrunch up my face. It tastes horrible. He starts to laugh, and when I start making more faces (unintentionally, of course), he's about to fall on the floor. Tears are rolling down his face.

"I guess not," he manages between fits of laughter. I don't see what's so funny about it. When he calms down, he finally manages to speak normally.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you made the most hilarious faces I've ever seen. But don't worry, pudding cup, you'll like it eventually."

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

"Don't know. It just works. It's kinda like how I call Steve 'Capsicle', Clint 'Bird-Brain', and don't get me started on Thor."

"Where are we?"

"My beach house in Florida." I walk over to the large windows on the other side of the room and look out. I can't believe my eyes. Just outside the window is the most beautiful place I've ever seen.

"Have you not seen a beach before?"

"No."

"Well, then there you go. Maybe I'll teach you how to surf or something."

"That sounds great." I look down, and notice that I'm still wearing my suit that the team gave me. It still fits perfectly, despite my change in size in the prison. I look at the shoulders, expecting to see rips from the spikes, but there are none there. I must look puzzled, because Tony starts to explain.

"We designed the suit to fit your… other form. We knew you'd get taller, and you'd probably have a bunch of spikes, so the suit would open up for them and stretch out a bit. We're trying to do that with Bruce's clothes, but nothing will stretch that much. So, when he de-hulkifies himself, try not to look."

"I'll definitely remember that. So, what happened after we got on the plane?"

"I told the pilot to take us here and take Thor and the queen back to the 'mothership', as I call it. You fell asleep immediately on Stan's shoulder. He seemed to like it, though. Even when you started to drool." He smirks.

"I drooled?"

"Yes, and I got a lovely video of it. I'll have to show you later. But anyways, we got here and lover boy over there offered to carry you in. He was tired though, so he just brought you to the couch and you both crashed. You looked so cute, though."

I glare at him in response, but Stan's snores divert our attention.

"What should we do with sleepyhead over there?" Tony asks.

"I've got an idea."

I tiptoe over to Stan and sit on the couch next to him. I place my hand on the back of his neck and turn my hand to ice. He wakes up immediately, yelling. Tony and I start to laugh so hard, we were rolling on the ground.

"Not cool, guys," Stan says, obviously pissed off.

"Technically, it was _cool_," I say after calming down.

"C'mon, eat breakfast, kids. We have to go back to the mothership and report back to Director Pissed-off."

Back on the mothership, we're taken directly to the containment cells. In the cell at the other end of the hall as Jpeshnak, the queen resides, bound up. According to the guards, she's been screaming her head off all day. Fun. Fury tells me that I can kill her however I like. I've already got that figured out.

The entire team, Fury, and Coulson go into the cell. It's bigger, but just for this purpose. I go in last, squeezing my way to the front of the group. That's when she goes nuts. She's screaming at me, threatening to rip me to shreds and throw me into space. Eventually, her voice dies. She tried to yell, but nothing comes out, not even a squeak. That's when I notice a device around her neck. I look beside me to see Tony with a small remote in his hand.

"Sorry, she was giving me a headache."

"No problem." I turn to the Svonfralitz. "You are a violent, cruel, evil being," I say to her. "I was given the opportunity to choose your fate. On this day, you shall die at the hands of your greatest 'weapon'. But know this. No matter what had happened, I would have never, for all of eternity, obeyed you." All of this I said in her language. I walk up to her, and I can see the same fear in her eyes that I did last night. I place my hands on either side of her head, and quickly freeze it. She isn't dead, but the only thing she will feel is the cold. I turn, and walk back to the group. They all look at me, confused.

I quickly reach down and grab one of Black Widow's guns. I turn, aim, and shoot the queen in her middle eye. Along with the ice, her head shatters, not a drop of blood anywhere.

"How did you get it to shatter like that?" Clint asks.

I don't respond, handing the gun to Natasha and walking out of the room without another word.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It's been just over a year since the queen of Svonfral died at my hands. Afterwards, Jpeshnak was released, and he stopped the army. In fact, he became the first king of the planet. He truly did make it a wonderful place. I've kept close contact with him since. He is forever grateful to me. I don't know why.

I've taken a new serum, one that made my human form my permanent form. I still have my powers, though. I'm one of the Avengers now, so I don't want to ruin it.

Tony's letting me live in his Florida beach house. It's the current location for all of us right now, minus Thor, who's back in Asgard. Everybody has grown quite fond of me.

Fury agreed to let me to school. I enrolled in a local high school. I even joined their marching band. Dorky, right? But hey, it's fun. And I changed my name to Sierra Nelson. But when it comes to the Avengers, I'm still Pyrexia.

Stan and I have been dating for about four months now. We've had our fair share of makeout sessions on the couch, nothing too serious. Although, a few times, people have walked in and made comments about how "cute" we are together.

Tony finally taught me how to surf, and I let him hear me play my horn. He really liked it. In fact, he's gone to every football game and competition my band has gone to.

"Hey, pudding cup, what's shaking?" Tony says as he enters the living room. Stan and I are sitting on the couch watching TV. I roll my eyes.

"Whatcha watching?"

"You don't wanna know," I respond. He walks behind the couch and you can hear him slap his forehead.

"My Little Pony? Really? You're running up my cable bill to watch that crap?"

"Yep. You should watch it sometime. It's actually really good."

"I doubt it, but I'll take your challenge." We watch one episode and at the end credits, Tony speaks up.

"Ok, I'll admit, that was actually pretty good."

"HA!" I yell. "I TOLD YOU SO!"

"If you tell anybody, I swear, I will kill you!"

"You wouldn't kill me!" I respond, trying to look as cute as possible.

"And why not?"

"Because you love me too much, honey bun!"

"Oh, now you're going to call me honey bun?"

"Yep. You call me pudding cup, I call you honey bun. It's only fair."

He rolls his eyes and spazzes out when JARVIS announces that we have guests. He grabs for the remote and quickly turns off the TV. The entire team floods in, even Thor. Movie night _is_ a tradition now, anyways.

After the snacks have been put together, everybody sits down. Clint sits in an armchair with Natasha on his lap. They're engaged now, much to Fury's distaste. He doesn't like the idea of a married couple working together on the team. Too many "distractions". All they had to do is promise not to get Tasha pregnant. Nobody wants a preggo chick on the team. Bruce, Tony, and Steve sit on the couch Stan and I were on earlier and Thor has taken up the other one, sprawled out. He has his own large bowl of popcorn, a bag of Skittles, two Dr. Peppers, and a turkey panini. Stan and I just sit on the floor. I'm currently working on writing some music, so I have several pages of blank sheet music spread out on the floor.

"So, what should we watch?" Natasha asks.

"How about we let the kiddies decided?" Tony responds.

"JARVIS?" I say to the AI system.

"Yes, ma'am?" he answers.

"What do you think we should watch?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Mr. Stark would like to watch that 'My Little Pony' he was watching earlier." The entire group cracks up, except for Tony, who shrinks into the couch as his face reddens. He glares at me.

"Hey, I didn't say it," I say, putting my hands up.

**Well, there you go. That's the end of "Pyrexia". I should start posting the sequel soon. I don't know what the title will be, so you'll have to look for it. I hope you liked it!**


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